


Breathe Easy

by Ashida



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 08:10:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8393875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashida/pseuds/Ashida
Summary: Yuuri could move, but he’d never moved quite like this, and the only word that Victor could think of was uninhibited. Like he’d left his reservations at the bottom of that first hill, and climbed into his identity with each step to the top.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Didn't actually know what I was doing with this, was gonna make it supernatural/fantasy.

Sometimes, Yuuri disappeared.

 

He didn’t quietly slink off to the Ice Castle to vent his unvoiced frustrations on the rink with kicks of his toe pick to send shavings of ice and scattered thoughts in no particular direction.

 

Nor did he run laps of the town in his worn down shoes with laces that constantly came undone, only to come back only when the house was quiet and the lights long turned off.

 

Victor’s last option was always Minako’s studio, where sometimes Yuuri would be practicing his form that was already far too unearthly for Victor to take, he’d shut his eyes and move to no music but the rhythm of his body, Eros personified for the short time where self consciousness was drowned by his ability. Victor was always secretly glad not to find Yuuri there, because that room was small, _stifling_ , and watching Yuuri like that never made it any more comfortable for anyone.

 

No, when Yuuri _really_ disappeared; Victor couldn’t find him anywhere. In a small community like this, where your neighbor knew what you had for dinner 3 days ago last week, where you couldn’t pop down to the local shop without allowing 5 minutes to talk to people that you’d probably spoken to the day before, where there was no where to really disappear too.

 

Still, Yuuri always managed a fine job of it, of avoiding him. Victor wondered if Yuuri would ever be able to sit still, if the only time he wasn’t moving, or over thinking, or doubting, was in his sleep. It tired Victor just thinking about it, let alone trying to keep up.

 

At the beginning, when he was just a coach, he thought maybe he could let Yuuri have those slots of time where he went AWOL to himself, he knew he’d been all take with Yuuri, it was almost impossible not to, because he knew Yuuri was all give, and after a fleeting few months in Hasetsu, Victor couldn’t play the denial game with himself anymore, he _wanted_ to take.

 

It started out as this notion of coachly obligation, of a genuine want to see Yuuri thrive, to see him succeed and grow into himself like anyone with determination like that deserved, it would be a crying tragedy if the world never got to see what Yuuri Katsuki could actually do, this much Victor knew. The way he flew across the ice when he was by himself, with closed eyes still looking forward, the world at his feet and burdens left behind, the pure joy of being on the ice.

 

Now, Victor’s intentions were a mix between morality and selfish intentions. He still wanted all of the above, now though, he wanted that tiny bit more, the only thing that Yuuri hadn’t been willing to give. It was almost disgusting, how much Victor felt he needed it, how much he wanted to reach into Yuuri’s soul when they were skating together, when he had Yuuri’s hips cradled against his under this false pretense of showing him something, and pluck that last kept secret.

 

It would be easy, the adorable blush that only deepened as Victor grew thoughtlessly more intimate with Yuuri told him everything, this thing, Yuuri would give too, if he pushed hard enough.

 

In the end, he foolishly ended up following him, his mind bent on this possessive obsession he’d developed with Yuuri Katsuki. To the edge of the town he kept that figure in his sight, that lonely back.

 

There was a mountain range skirting the town, mist shrouded in the mornings and a glorious silhouette in the dusk as the setting sun caressed the other side. No one went there that Victor knew, even though terrain was perfect for hiking and building fitness.

 

That was where he was currently following Yuuri though, up into the foothills full of foliage and birdsong, of vibrant green ferns fighting for sunlight with the blanket of rustling leaves above.

 

Red torii gates were the only thing that marked a path through the trees, these ancient relics with cracked paint stood a silent vigil in this forest. In town those gates had seemed a novelty to him, but Victor couldn’t shake the feeling that these gates here in this forest served a purpose.

 

Each step he took, the crunch of the drying foliage underfoot was masked by thick mountain air and smells of earth, at first he had to weave back and forth to follow Yuuri’s path through those ominous gates, and the harsh warble of the crows watching in the trees echoed Victor’s own rising curiosity.

 

The higher up he went, the more he followed, the stronger this feeling seizing his chest grew, the quieter the forest around him became, and more red gates appeared sporadically across the mountain, hundreds of them, some as high as his knee, the wood cracked and moss covered, red paint long gone, some were twice his height with broken lintels that’d fallen under the burden of their own weight to leave two red pillars with dirt covered black bases that still invited you through.

 

The air up here was clear, the wind breathless, and soon even the birds couldn’t bring themselves to interrupt this tranquil atmosphere where all ones troubles seemed cleansed with the passing of each gate.

 

Victor could understand now, why Yuuri wouldn’t want to share this place with him.

 

Soon enough, Yuuri’s physical endurance made itself apparent; as the afternoon wore on he lost sight of that solitary back altogether, yet he couldn’t bring himself to rush, Yuuri would be there at the top, he was sure.

 

As he neared the top, he thought of all the things he could say to Yuuri to get him to open up, all the things he _should_ say to make Yuuri trust him resolutely, but he’d never been good at truly serious conversations, especially when it came with the expectations that being someone’s idol did.

 

When he reached the crest however, with trees as old as time sheltering the clearing like a private forest that overlooked the world, everything Victor was about to say fizzled out in his brain, forgotten in the sight that was Yuuri Katsuki.

 

Yuuri, dancing on the inhuman side of ethereal, his upper body stripped to the skin and beaded with sweat, his now defined muscles contracting as he moved his body with a grace given to him by the divinities that Victor were sure guarded this very mountain top.

 

There was this energy above the trees, just beyond the edge of hearing, this pressure that built in Victor’s chest the longer he stood, leaning against a tree that’d never known the touch of mankind, utterly dumbstruck for one of the first times in his life.

 

If Yuuri heard him, he didn’t show it, he just kept practicing the piece that Victor had choreographed for him for the upcoming competition, moving across the dirt with a drag of his bare feet to carve a path in the soil.

 

Yuuri could move, but he’d never moved quite like this, and the only word that Victor could think of was _uninhibited._ Like he’d left his reservations at the bottom of that first hill, and climbed into his identity with each step to the top.

 

All too soon, Yuuri spun to a stop, chest heaving, hair dripping, arms lax at his side, and Victor finally realized how tight his throat was, how fucking proud he was of this person in front of him who never stopped trying.

 

“Yuuri…” he started, only to trail off again as words continued to fail him, he didn’t want to wreck this peace with his own selfish agenda.

 

Gone was the flighty Yuuri that always seemed surprised to see him, with his stuttered words and uncertain bearing. Yuuri looked up slowly, panting still, and he smiled as he sat down on a blanket of leaves to recover from his efforts. The silence stretched out, stronger than Victor’s will to press anymore.

 

“It’s nice up here, isn’t it?” Yuuri said after a time, his voice full of nostalgia and stories that Victor wanted to hear all about, then he flopped back into the leaves with his still sweaty back and dirt covered feet, spread his arms wide and gazed up at the sky that was close enough to touch.

 

He wasn’t jogging around town, or dancing in the studio, or wandering across the ice, Yuuri was relaxing with the colors of wilderness all around him, and Victor couldn’t help but agree that it was nice up here, for entirely different reasons. “It is.”

 

With nothing else said, Victor found himself sprawled next to Yuuri, looking up at the clouds as they moved by in the frame the trees gave the sky. “So this is where you come.” He finally said, leaving his question unasked.

 

He could hear Yuuri shrug with the rustle of leaves and exhale of breath, “I didn’t know if you’d want to come here....” even now he was sheepish, shy.

 

“Why?” was all Victor could ask, because he couldn’t think of any reason he wouldn’t want to come here, so he sat up, looking at the sprawled figure next to him that needed to put clothes on before he caught a chill. Yuuri stared at the sky still, the reflection in his eyes unmarred with no glasses to get in the way. “Mm, because no one ever believes in me when I say this place is different.”

 

Just like that; Victor knew the perfect thing to say, words that would expunge the doubt, words that would make Yuuri realize that Victor was serious about all of this. “I believe in you.”

 

The smile was back, not shy this time, but content with the answer Victor had given him. “Yeah, I know.”

 

“Aaaaand I think since I’ve climbed a mountain for you to sort this mess out, I deserve a kiss, no?’ he watched the smile turn into a giggle, watched those cheeks flush with a new heat, and rejoiced in the embarrassed whine that Yuuri gave in response. “I’m serious, Yuuri, I’m going to kiss you now.” _Finally._

And for once, Yuuri didn’t hesitate.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've never been hiking through the mountains in Japan, you're missing out. 
> 
> Thanks for reading. 
> 
> Find me on tumblr! [here](http://captain-erwinmerica.tumblr.com)


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